Chogyal Namkha’i Norbu Rinpoche. Photo credit: Unknown

On the  17th day of the 8th Tibetan Month, Western date September 27,  2018, the esteemed dzogchen master and scholar, Chogyal Namkha’i Norbu Rinpoche passed away. Although he was a Nyingma lineage holder, he had close ties with many Yungdrung Bön lamas. Through his years of research, he often verified the validity of Bönpo religious and historical accounts. In 1983, he and a group of his students traveled to Dolanji, India and received teachings and transmissions of the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyü from His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. In 1988, having been invited by Namkha’i Norbu Rinpoche to his Merigar Retreat Center in Italy, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche taught his first dzogchen retreat to Westerners.

Namkha’i Norbu Rinpoche and his students with HE Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal in Dolanji, India. 1983. Photo credit: Unknown

Namkha’i Norbu Rinpoche was a prolific writer and authored many books, including the well known “The Crystal and the Way of Light,” and “The Cycle of Day and Night.” He also wrote a three volume study of Zhang Zhung and Tibetan history which has been eloquently translated and edited by Donatella Rossi entitled, “The Light of Kailash, A History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet.”

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche with HE Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche in 2016. Photo credit: Unknown

When a realized lama passes, it is appropriate to fervently practice guru yoga, imagining the master merged with all masters and enlightened beings, to perform aspiration prayers, to perform acts of virtue, and to sponsor the performance of tsog offerings by the monastic community. For students, it is especially important to purify and renew commitments they have made with the master, and to zealously apply the master’s spiritual guidance until achieving realization for themselves and others.

Raven Cypress Wood ©2018